Tea Leaves

Today, psu discovered that he had an extra copy of Miles Davis’ seminal jazz recording Kind of Blue. So, he gave it to me. My last copy of this was a cassette tape that I lost some years ago, and I never got around to repurchasing it.

But I’m one of those people who always look a gift horse in the mouth. What I should have done was just say “Thank you.” But I couldn’t help it. Almost instinctively, my mind started generating responses to this gift that had but a single purpose: to make psu cry. He even helped, and contributed one. Here they are:

10. Miles Davis? He was the keyboardist for Duran Duran, right?

9. Oh, my favorite part of Kind of Blue is that drum cadence where the guys in the zoot suits all whirl their girls around, right before the “everybody start to swing!” chorus.

8. I remember exactly where I was when I heard that Miles Davis had died of a heroin overdose.

7. Bop has been so influential. I mean, the impact on Cyndi Lauper’s classic “She Bop” alone is immeasureable.

6. Kind of Blue pioneered a trance-like “modal” jazz sound. Later, people decided that modeless interfaces were better.

5. Thanks so much for this album! In return, I want to give you this recording of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus performing their tribute to Blind Lemon Jefferson, Kind of Pink.

4. Oh! Wait! I know this “So What” song. The Kenny G version is smokin’!

3. I read the liner notes, but they were kind of boring, and I couldn’t find the lyrics. What’s up with that?

2. When I listen to this in my audio room on my Krell amp and my Martin Logan speakers, wired with Monster cable and using only the finest power conditioners to avoid AC noise, the soundstage lacks depth, and the transparency of some of the brass is a bit gritty. Overall, I’d say this recording is sub-par.

1. It’s sort of weird — I heard this live, and it was as if it were a totally different song.

Additional Resources

• Really, if you don’t already own a copy of this album, you should.